Harry Stevenson WEBB

1865 -

• Name	Harry Stevenson WEBB
  Birth	1865	Stepney, Middlesex   [1]
  Baptism	19 Feb 1865	St. Thomas, West Arbour St., Stepney, Middlesex   [2]
  Gender	Male
  1871 Census	73, Woodstock St., Plaistow, West Ham, Essex   [3]
  	At 1871 Census, he is 6, occ "Scholar"
  1881 Census	28, Earnest St., Tower Hamlets, Middlesex   [4]
  	At 1881 Census, he is 17, occ "Fish Porter" [called Henry]
  Person ID	I161	Webb
  Last Modified	9 Mar 2025

  
  

  Father	William James WEBB,   b. 1839, 27, Austin St., Bethnal Green, Middlesex
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Sarah Elizabeth STEVENSON,   b. Abt 1841, Shadwell, Middlesex
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	5 Oct 1857	St. George in the East, Tower Hamlets   [5]
  Notes	After 1861 the story of William and Sarah becomes less clear. In the 1871 Census, Sarah is married to Alfred, a joiner from Suffolk, living in West Ham. This clearly is the right Sarah as her mother is there too. But in 1881 Alfred appears back in Suffolk, unmarried, with his Aunt and Uncle. There is no complete evidence for Sarah anywhere after 1871, in Census or in BMD indices, but it might be presumed that she had died and Alfred then went back to his roots. I can find no record of Sarah WEBB (or STEVENSON) marrying Alfred WEBB. Slightly less likely is that they were not living together in 1871, Alfred was just lodging, and for convenience went in as head, or that this was his property and Sarah and some of her children, and her mother, were lodging with Alfred. Robert(2), Susannah(1 wk), are also there but without the birth certificates do not know who their father is. I have not found Robert or Susannah later than this but they are with none of the possible parents in 1881. Lastly, there is a Sarah WEBB who died in Shoreditch Jan qtr 1870. This means that Alfred just reported her (by mistake, or for simplicity or public perception?), but she was not actually alive. William meanwhile appears in 1881 and 1891 Censuses, in 1981 as widowed, with Harriet HALL (married) as a housekeeper. There are likely children, James(1y 8m) and Emma(3m), born to Harriet and William, so again they either married or were treated as such. The key indicator here is that William is a Fish Porter, so I am fairly sure we have the right person, given age, place of birth and children. Church records have John George born to William and Harriet 10/12/1882 (bapt 2/10/1888), then James Walter and Harry Charles, twins born 28/7/1879 (bapt 21/9/1879) to William and Harriet. James and John appear in School lists in 1892 (living at 24, Elstead St., father a fish porter), but there is no Harry. Then in 1891 William is married to Emma. Again there is no BMD evidence for Harriet's marriage or death (there is no Harriet Hall in death indices), nor for any marriage to Emma. Perhaps most likely is that Emma and Harriet are the same person and that one of the names (probably Harriet) was written down incorrectly. There is possible death evidence for both Emma (Lewisham Q1 1898, aged 42, which matches the Census) and William (Southwark Q4 1895 aged 55, giving DOB of 1840, which is close enough).
  Family ID	F57	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1865 - Stepney, Middlesex Baptism - 19 Feb 1865 - St. Thomas, West Arbour St., Stepney, Middlesex  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  It is unclear what happens after 1881. Many of the internet sites suggest a death in 1884, but it is not necessarily right. There are other possibilities all the way to the 1939 Register. I have found nothing definite (ie with the name Stevenson in the record)

  
  

• Sources

  [S255] IGI record of Christening :- Harry Stevenson Webb (1865). [S402] Baptism register :- St Thomas, Stepney (1865). [S265] 1871 Census :- 73, Woodstock St., Plaistow, West Ham, Essex. [S266] 1881 Census :- 28, Earnest St., Tower Hamlets, Middlesex. [S250] Marriage register entry :- William James Webb - Sarah Elizabeth Stevenson (1857).